Annual & Sick Leave
Time for Your Work/Life
You work hard, and you should also play hard. But sometimes, life throws a curve ball in your way with an unexpected illness. That is why the judiciary offers competitive Annual and Sick leave for eligible employees. Annual and Sick leave are accrued on a prorated basis in whole-hour increments each pay period.
Annual Leave
Annual leave is accrued based on the total number of hours paid in the pay period. Annual leave is also accrued based on eligible years of state service. Annual leave rolls over year-to-year but is capped at 320 hours. Employees are encouraged to use their annual leave before they reach the cap, as any hours over 320 will be forfeited at the end of the calendar year. Annual leave accrues as follows:
Less than 5 years = 4 hours accrual per pay period
At least 5 and less than 10 years = 5 hours accrual per pay period
At least 10 and less than 20 years = 6 hours accrual per pay period
20 years or more = 7 hours accrual per pay period
Justices and judges do not accrue annual leave but have an unlimited amount. There is no annual leave payout upon retirement/separation of employment. Court Commissioners shall receive annual leave of 20 days per calendar year. A commissioner hired part-way through the year shall receive annual leave on a prorated basis.
Sick Leave
Sick leave accrues based on the number of hours paid in the pay period and accrues at a maximum of 4 hours per pay period for all eligible employees, regardless of their years of service.
There is no limit on the amount of sick leave that can be earned or carried over from year to year. Employees are required to contact management before the beginning of their scheduled workday when the employee is absent due to illness or injury. If an employee is out for more than three successive work days, they may be asked to provide evidence for the need to use the leave.
Unlike Programs 1 and 2, sick leave hours accrued beginning January 4, 2014, have no value at retirement and are treated the same as when an employee terminates employment. Employees with balances in Program 1 or 2 may use their time, but they are required to submit a request form to make the leave available. The completed form should be sent to the District Administrative Assistant or the Courts Finance Department at payroll@utcourts.gov.
Sick Leave Programs Explained
Program I (Pre 2006 Sick) – With this program, sick leave hours accrued by employees were capped on January 1, 2006, and identified as “Pre 2006 Sick” on your pay statement. Upon retirement, 25% of the sick leave balance will be contributed to the employee’s 401(k) plan. The remaining 75% can be used to purchase the State’s portion of medical insurance at the rate of eight hours for one month of coverage at the same coverage the retiree had upon retirement if the employee is under the age of 65. Employees are still responsible for their portion of the premium. Once the retiree reaches age 65, coverage for a younger spouse is available by using 8 hours of sick or converted sick leave until the spouse reaches age 65. Dependent coverage is not available once the retiree reaches age 65.
Program II (Pre-2014 Sick) – With this program, sick leave has accrued since January 1, 2006, and is identified as “Pre-2014 Sick” on your pay statement after January 4, 2014. Upon retirement, 25% of the sick leave balance is contributed to the employee’s 401(k) plan. The other 75% is contributed pre-tax to a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) to be used for out-of-pocket medical expenses. The amount contributed to the HRA is calculated by multiplying the employee’s final rate of pay or the average rate of pay of state employees who retired in the previous year, whichever is greater, by the number of hours of sick leave. The accrual of these hours will end on January 3, 2014.
Program III (Sick) – Beginning January 4, 2014, employees will begin accruing hours in Program III (Sick). Unlike Program I (Pre 2006 Sick) and Program II (Pre 2014 Sick) hours, Program III (Sick) sick leave hours can only be used as sick leave. These hours have no value toward post-retirement benefits and will lapse when an employee leaves employment for any reason. In Program III (Sick), employees will receive the same leave accrual rate of 4 hours per pay period. There will be no cap on the accrual of this sick leave. It will roll over from year to year. Program III will be identified as “Sick” on the pay statement after January 4, 2014.